


Day 5 - Christmas Birthday with Fred Weasley

by musicalcrimescene



Series: Harry Potter 12 Days of Christmas [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Best Friends, Birthday, Christmas Fluff, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Holidays, Kissing, Love, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romance, Two Shot, Winter Break, birthday on christmas, break at the burrow, friends with the Weasley twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 00:23:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28662417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalcrimescene/pseuds/musicalcrimescene
Summary: Reader's not a huge fan of Christmas because her birthday falls on the same day. Everyone seems to forget about her, including her own parents and huge family. Once the Weasley twins find out, of course, they refuse to let her go without a proper birthday celebration at the burrow.
Relationships: Fred Weasley & Reader, Fred Weasley/Reader, George Weasley & Reader
Series: Harry Potter 12 Days of Christmas [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2055726
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	Day 5 - Christmas Birthday with Fred Weasley

**Author's Note:**

> Ok! I'm back! I know I shouldn't apologize, but I'm sorry for being gone so long! The winter holidays have been rough in more ways than one. First I was so busy with work and gifts and family, then I had to get some -very minor- surgery which sucked, and then some big shit went down and it was crazy! But now I'm recovered and can go back to focusing on this which is really nice because I missed it!
> 
> Anyway, the summary is shitty for this one lol, sorry about that too. I've got a lot of work to do for my ~big girl adult job~ so I had to make this one a little short. It's only half done, technically, but the next and final part will be day 6 of the 12 days of Christmas! And yes, it is now January and Christmas is long done, but I still plan on finishing the 12 day series. I'd hate to leave any work unfinished, so hopefully I'll have it done by the end of January.
> 
> Thank you so much all my lovely readers!! I adore you and hope you all had a safe and lovely holiday season!

You grumble into your grits and pumpkin juice as yet another group of too festive students begin merrily singing another overplayed - oversang - Christmas song. This time it’s a horrible rendition of “Last Christmas,” a newfound favourite in the school.

You sigh as you rest your cheek in your palm. You’ve only just gotten down to the Great Hall for breakfast and already the singing has begun. It’s bad enough that you have to bear through it in between classes, and not to mention the thought-to-be-quiet humming during classes, but now you can’t even eat breakfast in peace.

You shove another spoonful of grits in your mouth as you try to ignore the dreadfully pitched singing, instead turning your attention to your friends discussing the upcoming winter break. There’s only a week left of classes before break lets out, and it seems everyone’s spirits but yours are lifted. You continue eating in silence as you listen to your friends discuss their break plans.

“I’ll finally be able to see Micah again when I get back. I’m spending Christmas Eve with his family, which will be nice.” Tamsin is munching on a piece of toast with raspberry jam dripping off the sides as she sighs over her long distance boyfriend. He graduated last year and it’s been months since she’s seen him, so you’re sure that’s all she’ll be writing about in her letters.

Benjy, on the other hand, is wincing at Tamsin’s jam splattered plate as he shovels some eggs into his own mouth. When the attention turns to him, he shrugs, chewing. “I’ll go home, sleep more than I should, avoid responsibilities, and then do some last minute shopping for Mum. Nothing special, I s'pose.” You snort at his answer as you chew your grits and he raises an eyebrow at you.

“Oh, yeah? And what will you be doing, then?” You huff and push your grits around with your spoon. You shrug, trying to make your answer seem nonchalant.

“Oh, you know. Trying to find peace in a house that’s never known a moment of quiet. I’ll be forgotten on the sidelines for a week, wished a happy birthday for five obligatory minutes, and then the Christmas festivities will resume.” Benjy winces and Tamsin frowns. She’s got her ‘I’m looking at a kicked kitten’ eyes on and you wish she would stop using those on you.

You wave them off. “I’m exaggerating, honestly. It’ll just be a normal break. You know my family doesn’t really have the patience for anything special. Planning a vacation with nine children really isn’t affordable or reasonable.” Tamsin sighs, putting her toast back on her plate before giving you a sincere smile.

“You’re always welcome at ours, you know. It’s just me and my parents, no siblings in sight!” You give her a smile back, but shake your head.

“It’s ok, Tamsin, really. That’s sweet, but I don’t want to take any time away from you and Micah. You see me everyday, and you haven’t seen him in months. I’ll be fine.” You look over at Benjy who’s about to open his mouth, but you put a hand up.

“Don’t worry either, Benjy. I’ll be fine. Besides,” I say with a relaxed smirk, “I wouldn’t want to interrupt any of your precious sleeping time.” He chuckles at that, picking at his eggs a bit.

“Yeah, but still. You can come over and help me find a present for my mum, if you want. It would actually be a big help, you’re much better at that stuff than I am.” You grin and nod.

“Of course! Your mother is brilliant, she deserves much better than any half-assed gift you could get her.” You dodge the eggs he flicks your way, laughing. Grabbing your bag, you sling it over your shoulder, brushing any residual egg and crumbs off your skirt.

“I’ll be off, then. I promised Professor Sprout I’d help her set up for today’s lesson.” You stick your tongue out as Benjy begins to snicker, walking away before they can make any ‘teacher’s pet’ comments. It’s not your fault she’s your head of house and the professor of your favorite subject.

As you walk away from the Hufflepuff table, two flashes of red catch your eye and you sigh, trying to hide your grin. Pushing through the double doors leading to the hallway, you only have to wait about fifteen seconds before two arms are wrapped around your shoulders and you're surrounded by Weasleys.

Without glancing up, you greet them. “Hello Fred, hello George. Awfully early to be leaving breakfast, isn’t it?” You hear them chuckle beside you. Already, just from the sound of their laughter, you can tell that Fred is on your left, George on your right. 

“We could be asking you the same thing, Badger.” You smile at their nickname for you, one that formed in your first year at Hogwarts. You had vaguely known the Weasley’s before then, as both of your mother’s were friends at Hogwarts. Both were Gryffindors, though your father was a Slytherin. The few times you spent over at the burrow, playing with the twins and Ginny, you’d play your made up game called Hogwarts in which Fred would place a toad upon your head and sort you into a house depending on which sound it made.

Every time, no matter the sound, they always said you were sorted into Gryffindor. It was entirely because that was the house they wanted to be sorted in (they still greatly admired their older brothers at the time) and always wanted to drag you along with them. You played along, but secretly thought that you didn’t quite belong in Gryffindor. No, you were quite interested in Ravenclaw, or even Hufflepuff. You’re nothing like your father, loving as he is, so you figured Slytherin was out.

When the three of you finally arrived at Hogwarts and they were sorted into Gryffindor, you into Hufflepuff (you were secretly very pleased), the nickname Badger came around. It’s quite simple, as it’s simply your house animal, but you always were quite fond of it. It’s cute, you think, and you quite like the idea of the twins having a nickname just for you.

Despite being in different houses, you always remained friends with the twins. At first it was more obligatory than anything, as your mums are mates, but throughout your years at school it became more personal. Eventually, you didn’t need to wait for your mum to be invited round to the burrow for you to go see them over break. Instead, an owl came just for you in George’s handwriting, inviting you along for a week. 

You always accept. Even though there are seven children in their house, only two less than in your own, it still felt so much more peaceful. To start, their only arguments were friendly or joking at worst. Their house feels much more like a home than your own, which feels more like a hotel that can only fit 5 people but is currently housing eleven. It’s ridiculous, loud, and always full of hateful bickering.

Needless to say, you much prefer the Weasley’s home to your own house. And so that’s why, now a week before break and with the twins’ arms around your shoulder, you’re quietly hoping they invite you over again for the holidays.

Instead of asking yourself, though, you simply roll your eyes and continue your walk to the greenhouses. You share your first class of the day there with the twins, and so the three of you usually walk there together. 

“I promised Professor Sprout I’d help her set up for the lesson today, if you must know. And spare me the teasing, Benjy’s already got that covered.” The two snicker anyway but continue following you down the hall.

“You assume the worst of us, Badger,” Fred teases. You smirk up at him, pushing down the blush at the close-quarters eye contact. It’s true that you’re close friends with both Weasley twins and have been for a while, but you’ve always felt more of a pull from Fred. To you he just seems magnetic, like you can’t quite look away. Eventually this led to nerves when you were around him and blushing when you got caught staring. You had the constant desire to be around him, and then halfway through last year you came to the inevitable conclusion that you fancy the daylights out of Fred Weasley.

This conclusion came with plenty of stress and embarrassment, especially when George caught you muttering about it in the hall when you thought you were alone. Hearing his brother's name, he mercilessly teased you until, about five minutes later, you finally told him, making him swear to keep it to himself. After ten minutes of bribery and some tears, he finally agreed.

As you glance away from Fred, blush already taking over your face, you meet eyes with George and scowl at his expression. He’s wiggling his eyebrows with a grin on his face, looking not subtle at all in his insinuation. You shove your elbow into his side and look straight ahead, huffing at the two of them.

“Well, if the two of you have no business here, then I’ll just be on my way. I’ll see you in class.” You try your best to speed up your walk to gain some distance between them, but their too-long legs refuse to let that happen.

“Ah, ah, ah, not so fast,” George croons as he leans his head near yours, his stride never pausing. Fred mimics his posture on your other side.

“We do have business here, actually. You see, we just received a letter from our mum.” 

“Indeed we did. And she asked a very interesting question in this letter, didn’t she Freddie?” Fred grins down at you and you try not to look at him head on. Looking out of the corner of your eye doesn’t count, you don’t think.

“She did,” he says, sporting a wicked grin. “Our mother dearest wants to know what your plans are for the winter holiday.” You try to stamp down the smile creeping its way onto your face, but you can’t help the twitch of the corners of your mouth.

“Well, I believe I’ll be having a horrible time trying to keep the pillows over my ears while simultaneously reading a book. Then perhaps I’ll dig through the couch for spare galleons before any of my brothers get around to it. Of course, I expect to speak to my parents at least once over break, though that may be difficult considering Katerina has recently found interest in entomology and finds it best to study in the kitchen, Cormac has moved into the same room as Argus with Vincent and the twins as he blew up his own via potions experiment, and dear Pomona is going mad over her wedding plans and is constantly in need of Mum’s help deciding which shade of cream to make the dinner cloths.”

You’ve nearly run out of breath by the time you’re through, and you take a little gasp of air. Then you take another out of pure frustration. The upcoming break doesn’t sound like a break at all; instead, it sounds like your worst nightmare. Or, rather, home. 

All four eyebrows belonging to the twins have raised in surprise and disbelief. Yes, they are aware of how many people occupy your house, but everyone always assumes you’re exaggerating when you describe the comings and goings of your family. You are not, in fact, exaggerating at all.

“Well,” George says, straightening up and looking ahead as you turn another corner. Fred interrupts.

“Entomology… is that the study about words? Or is it bugs, I can never remember. I imagine the bug one would be much worse.” George clicks his tongue.

“No, I think that etymology you’re thinking of, Fred. Or could it be epidemiology?” Fred cocks his head in thought.

“No, I’m pretty sure that’s the disease one. Or could it be the one about plants?” Now George gives his brother a look as though he were mad.

‘No, you git, that herbology.” Fred delivers the you wanker look right back to George.

“Yes, I know that, you tosser, that’s where we’re going now!” You close your eyes and wish for them to be silent, though you know it won’t happen without any interference.

“Oh, please shut it, will you? Entomology is bugs, Fred. And George, etymology is the study of words. Epidemiology is the spread of diseases, botany is plants, and herbology is magical plants.” You sigh. “I should never have let you two borrow the book on muggle sciences.”

They both let out scoffs of protest. “That book was fantastic!” George exclaims while waving his arms, nearly whacking you in the face.

“Yeah,” Fred continues. “And we needed it for the one prank we pulled on Snape.” He gives George a crooked grin. “Brilliant, that was.”

George releases a dramatic sigh and rests his arm on your shoulder. “And to think,” he says with fake pity, “we were going to invite you to ours for the break.” Fred sighs as well and copies George, placing his arm on your other shoulder. It could be your imagination, but you’re fairly certain he’s leaning in much closer than George is. You try to control your blush.

“What a shame,” Fred says, his breath touching your ear, “that you’ll have to spend two whole weeks apart from up, Badger.”

“What a shame indeed,” weeps George. You roll your eyes despite your smile and shove George off when he begins dramatizing his faux crying. For no reason other than he is being significantly less dramatic, you allow Fred’s arm to remain on your shoulder. It is for no other reason, none at all.

You really are quite excited about the invitation to the burrow. It would certainly make your winter holidays much better than any you’d experience at home. Of course, you can’t let the twins know you’re so eager to accept.

“Actually, if I heard correctly, it was Molly who invited me to the burrow for break. So I’m afraid I’ll have to send her a letter with my response. I’m sure she’ll let you know what I say, though.” 

With that you reach the castle exit that leads outdoors to the greenhouses and so you duck under Fred’s arm and hop away from them, not looking back once. It’s quite tempting to do so when they yell their protests and claims of “rubbish,” but you simply hide your smile and pull the door open to the greenhouse for today's lesson.

**********

You did end up writing Molly Weasley a letter accepting and thanking her for the invitation, as you enjoyed the annoyed looks on Fred and George’s faces. Their constant bothering you for your answer was slightly grating, but it was certainly entertaining to drop untrue hints about how busy you’ll be over break and leading them to believe you won’t be going to the burrow.

They finally are released from their ignorance two days later when they see Pigwidgeon arrive with a letter and fly past Gryffindor and towards the Hufflepuff table. The two spring up from their seat and all but run over to where you’re sitting, startling Ben into dropping his spoonful of grits. The twins ignore his petulant glare and sit on either side of you.

“Alright Badger, read the letter, will you?” George tries to take the letter from your hands, but you snatch it away and then raise it up in the air when Fred tries the same. He raises an eyebrow at your not-so-great leverage over him.

“You do know that you’re shorter than me and I could easily grab it from you, right?” You smile up at him and use your other elbow to nudge into his ribs. He grunts, but gives you an amused look.

“Yes, I know. I also know that you won’t because I am your friend and you would never be so rude.” He laughs at that and you ignore him in favor of opening the letter, pulling it close to your chest and away from their prying eyes.

As you read through the letter, it’s what you expected, really. Molly thanks you for accepting, says how excited she is to see you and have you with them, and sends her warm wishes for the end of term. It’s not until you get to the final line that your eyes widen and you clutch the letter against your chest fully. Immediately you regret the action as there is no doubt that the twins will stop at nothing to read the letter now.

As you glance between the two of them, you see their matching wiggling eyebrows and wide grins.

“Oh?” Says george.

“What did Mum write that’s so interesting, love?” You flush at Fred’s use of love and hastily fold the letter back up, trying to shove it away in your robe.

“Nothing, nothing at all. Just… lady things. She said she’s glad I’m staying for the break. There, you know, so you can go back to your own table now.” Fred looks pleased about the news of you staying for break, but George points to your robe, getting his mind back on track.

“Well, if that’s all then I see no reason why we can’t read the letter too.” You glare at George and nearly miss the prompting look he gives over your shoulder to Fred. Grinning, you whip back around to the twin on your other side.

“Twin telepathy really isn’t so secret when even I can figure out what you mean, now is it?” You raise your chin as you smile up at Fred, proud of yourself. “George isn’t going to distract me so that you can grab the letter. You’re really not that subtle, you know.”

Fred gives you a soft smile as he leans his head on his hand, elbow resting on the table. His gaze goes soft and you pause for a moment, caught in his gaze. He’s never looked at you like that in such a public space. Sure, he would occasionally glance at you with soft eyes and an even softer smile when he thought no one saw, but never like this and certainly never where he could be seen.

Your eyebrows furrow as your cheeks flush pink from his attention. You nearly forget what your secretive goal is until you feel a hand dig its way into the pocket of your cloak. You react too late, though, and as you turn around you see George victoriously waving the letter in his hand. You cry out and try and grab for it, but after a few moments of struggling you give up, resigning yourself to your fate. George’s arms are much too long for you. Curse his lanky build.

“Now, let’s see what’s so interesting about this letter…” He trails off as he begins reading it. Fred, not wanting to miss out, leans forward in his seat and places one arm around your shoulders and brings his head right in front of yours so as to view the piece of parchment. You blush furiously at the lack of space between the two of you and glance over his head at Benjy who has a wide smirk and raised eyebrow and he glances between you and Fred.

You glare at him before turning your attention back to the twins, shoving Fred away from you - you notice that his arm remains around you - and trying once more to snatch the letter away from George. You manage to do so, but it seems it’s too late. George’s face is one of surprise and Fred’s one of disbelief. You sigh and tuck the letter back into your pocket with one hand, waving your other around signaling them to go on.

“Badger!” George cries, gaining the attention of all the Hufflepuffs nearby and even a few Ravenclaws at the next table. You shush him, but he ignores this and leans closer, eyes wide.

“You never told us!” You roll your eyes and shift your attention to Fred who looks less surprised and more upset. When he meets your eyes, he opens his mouth as well.

“We never knew your birthday! We’re terrible friends who never knew your birthday.” You give him what you hope is a nonchalant smile and one shoulder.

“Guys, it’s really not important. You’re not terrible friends. I’m the one who never told you my birthday, after all.” George narrows his eyes but still has a hint of a smile on his face.

“Yeah! You’re the bad friend who never told us her birthday!” You splutter at that, giving him an offended look, but Fred speaks before you can.

“He’s right! We’ve asked, I’m sure we’ve asked. How did we still not know?” You shrug again and start picking at the forgotten piece of toast on your plate.

“It isn’t hard to divert your attention, you know.” You give Fred a sly look from the corner of your eyes, a small smile on your lips as he shakes his head in disbelief.

“I can’t believe this,” George says, leaning forward on the table. “How does Mum know your birthday and we don’t? Besides, when is your birthday? She said it’s soon and that we’ll celebrate, so it’s gotta be over break.” 

Fred nods at his words, now determined. “Yeah! That’s only 14 days to guess from, that’s not so bad.” From across the table you hear a snort. The three of you look towards forgotten Benjy as he finishes chewing another bite of grits. When he sees your expectant gazes and raised eyebrows, he shrugs, looking back down at his bowl as he swallows.

“Or, you know,” he says in tht casual way of his that you know always spells trouble, “you could just ask.” Fred lets out a laugh and George shakes his head.

“She’ll never tell us,” George grumbles, leaning his head in his hand as he looks at Benjy. Benjy, in response, gives another shrug, his sly smile creeping up his face in full view now. You glare at him and he maintains eye contact as he fully betrays you.

“Never said you had to ask her. I happen to know her birthday too, you know.” There’s silence for a moment as you contemplate murder of your best friend before the twins leap up, leaning across the table at him. They begin shouting a bit and Benjy looks a bit surprised before crying out. 

“Hey, hey! Merlin, you two are like dogs. I won’t give you the date,” - the twins groan and you grin proudly at your friend - “but let’s just say it’s not a very merry day of the year for her.” 

Your grin drops and you’re back to full on glaring at Benjy as he laughs back at you before going back to his breakfast. Luckily for you, your appetite seems to have disappeared. Fred and George think this clue over for a moment, but the moment they realize is obvious. They slowly raise their heads and meet each other’s eyes with matching grins before directing them at you. In return, you stand and try to leave the table, but they each grab a shoulder and pull you back down as you groan in protest.

“Badger,” George says, voice teasing and curious. “You can’t be serious.”

You glare at him and Fred leans in closer, eyes wide and grin disbelieving. “You, the one person we know who can’t stand Christmas, has their birthday on Christmas?” You close your eyes and try to muster any strength you can for the undoubtedly upcoming teasing and jokes.

“I’m only going to say this once, boys, alright?” They both nod, leaning in closer. “Yes, my birthday is December 25th. Yes, that is part of the reason I don’t like Christmas. No, I will not explain further, and no, you cannot make Christmas jokes.” Once more, you stand with the intention of leaving, but this time Fred grabs your hand and you can’t help but freeze, looking down at his palm in yours. You flush and avoid looking him in the eyes.

Despite not looking at his face, you can tell he’s frowning. “If your birthday is on Christmas, then why are you coming to ours? Won’t your family want you there? Seems wrong to miss two important events on the same day.”

You sit down again, looking down at your lap as your free hand plays with the hem of your skirt. Briefly, you notice Fred’s still holding your hand. You don’t pull away. Instead, you glance across the table at Benjy who’s looking back with a sympathetic look. He’s heard this story before and understands your bitterness towards the holiday. 

He’s also the only one who knows of the bitterness you have towards your family; yes, they try their best and it’s hard having so many kids, but you still can’t help but feel as though your situation isn’t fair. You feel guilty thinking about it, because you love your parents and respect them and their decisions, but you often wonder why they had so many kids if they can hardly pay attention to some of them.

You sigh, pushing the thoughts away. Glancing wearily at Fred, you see the concern on his face at your hesitation and pause. After a moment, you shrug with a grin, and though it feels blatantly fake to you, you hope the twins will buy it. As you meet Benjy’s eyes once more, you can tell he certainly doesn’t.

In an attempt to look casual, you pick up the piece of toast on your plate with your free hand - Fred is still holding your other hand, and your palm is getting awfully sweaty, and you hope he doesn’t notice. 

“My parents wish me a happy birthday when they remember, about midday after presents and before dinner when everyone is calmed down. After that, they assume the holiday festivities make up for everything else.” The edge of your toast crumbles in your tight grip and you drop the now stale piece of bread on your plate, giving up on eating the rest of it.

Brushing the crumbs off your skirt, you reach over for a fresh scone, not bothering to butter it before taking too-big of a bite. Perhaps you thought your prolonged chewing would delay any further conversation, but of course the twins’ mouths are free of food - not that it would have stopped them from talking if their cheeks were stuffed full.

George speaks first. “Well, sure, but what about a cake or your birthday cards? Do you get your presents another day, or do they give them to you then?” 

You choke down your first bite of scone and resist the urge to shove the rest in your mouth just to avoid answering. Whenever someone asks this question and receives an honest answer, they either agree with the efficiency or have an intense look of pity in their eyes. You’re still not sure which hurts more.

You shrug again. “I don’t get a cake. It’s not a very Christmas-y dessert, they say. And there are no birthday cards, or if there are then it’s lumped in with the Christmas cards. My birthday gifts are the same as my Christmas presents. That way it’s fair for all my siblings too, that I don’t receive anything more than they do.”

They stay silent for a moment as you avoid their eyes. Out of your peripherals you see them glance up at Benjy for confirmation and you can only assume he gives a solemn nod, perhaps a shrug for your comfort so they don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Even if he does, you’re not sure it would work on the Weasleys.

George speaks up again. “That’s just… that doesn’t seem right.” Up until now you hadn’t quite noticed, but Fred’s grip on your hand has tightened significantly. With George’s words, it tightens further and you’re on the verge of wincing.

“It’s not right at all,” he exclaims, his face a picture of righteous fury, something you're sure is much too dramatic for such a situation. “Bloody hell, it’s just wrong! What kind of parents don’t celebrate their own kids' birthdays?”

You give him a side eye. “It’s not like they’re bad parents,” you defend. “They’re just fine. They send me to school, they buy me my textbooks when they can, and they love me just fine. They just don’t have the time, energy, or finances to do anything special during the holiday season. I’m fine with that, honestly. Individual attention is pretty much nonexistent in that house anyway.”

You shove another bite of scone in your mouth and stand once more, reluctantly pulling your hand from Fred’s grasp to gather your bag. As much as you try and tell yourself you’re not running away, just getting to class on time, you know it’s a lie. You can handle the pity or the lack of sympathy, but you’re not sure you can handle either of them coming from George or, Merlin forbid, Fred.

“Look, it’s fine. I’ll see you in class, yeah?” Without giving them the chance to respond, you shove the last bite of scone in your mouth and walk away from the table and out the wide double doors. This time, no footsteps follow.

**********

You don’t see the twins again until later, and by then you’ve recovered from the dreadful - and slightly embarrassing - conversation at breakfast. You’re already seated in the classroom, pulling out your Transfiguration textbook, when they both walk in, heads bent together and whispering furiously. When they notice you, they straighten up quickly and wave as you give them a smile back.

Good, you think. Everything is normal and they’re not overreacting. Maybe they’ll even forget the whole thing happened!

When they both end up in front of your desk, several rows in front of their usual seats, you know there’s no chance of that happening.

You aim a wary look at them, looking back and forth between the grinning twins. You’re not sure if you should be curious or afraid. Your body decides on both.

“Um… hello, boys. Anything I can do for you?” Their grins turn from innocent to wicked in a manner you think is much too synchronized to be natural. Nevertheless, they’re now grinning down at you with intent and determination and you suddenly wish now more than before that this morning had never happened.

“Yes, you can, actually,” Fred says in a matter of fact voice. You cock an eyebrow at him, encouraging him to continue. George takes his place.

“You can tell us what your favorite kind of cake is.” Ignoring your deadpan, Fred jumps in before you can refuse to answer.

“And,” he says with great enthusiasm, “what size shirt you wear.” You blush a bit at this and pull away, leaning back in your seat.

“Um… and why would you need to know either of those things?” They both give you a look that non-verbally insults your intelligence.

“For your birthday, of course!” You give them a blank expression for approximately three seconds before looking down at your desk as sorting your things for class.

“No,” you say, and as soon as you do the parchment under your hands is swiped from your hands only to be held above your head by a proud-of-himself George. You sigh and cross your arms as you lean back in your seat, looking up at them.

“What are you going to do, buy me a cake and find me a jumper? I told you, it’s not a big deal. You don’t need to do anything for my birthday. In fact, maybe I don’t want you to.” You raise your eyebrows at them, looking for a defeated answer. What you receive instead makes you even more nervous than before.

George, after examining you for a second, clicks his tongue and shakes his head. Your eyebrows furrow at this as you silently question him. He shrugs. “You know, I hate to do this to you badger,” - you’re sure he doesn’t - “but you leave me no choice.” After raising one meaningful eyebrow at you, he turns to a confused Fred and claps him on the back. You start to panic at his insinuation. No, you think. George would never…

Oh, but he would. Without a moment of hesitation, George opens his mouth while looking at you with a challenging smirk. “Freddie, it seems our little Badger has a secret, and I do believe the saying goes that secrets, secrets are no fun-” 

You jump forward and slam your hand on your desk, startling the two of them. Fred still looks as confused as ever and seems to be looking to you for answers, but you avoid his eyes and glare at George instead, cheeks flaming.

With gritted teeth, you answer them. “Chocolate,” you grind out, along with the size you usually use for buying any kind of top. George looks satisfied by your compliance and gives you a pleasant “thank you!” before heading to his seat. Fred, on the other hand, is more suspicious and confused than before. He raises an eyebrow down at you and you try not to groan. Bloody George and his big mouth-

“What was George talking about?” You try and give Fred an innocent smile, one that you’re sure he doesn’t buy if his crossed arms are anything to go by.

“Whatever do you mean, Fred?” He sighs in exasperation and leans over your desk, bringing his face closer to yours.

“I mean, what secret do you have that he knows about and I don’t?” You freeze, your smile turning stiff as you try to come up with a lie, any lie, to tell him.

“I’m pretty sure he was lying about knowing any of my secrets. But you never know with the two of you, so I just decided to play it safe incase he did secretly know something embarrassing about me.” You breathe a small sigh of relief at your ability to come up with something on the spot. Glancing up at Fred, though, he doesn’t seem fully convinced. You shrug, trying to appear casual.

“Fred, trust me, I would never willingly tell George any secret of mine, and if I did, don’t you think he would have shared it with you by now?” He takes a moment to contemplate this, looking over your face as though searching for any tells of a lie. Despite you being sure he doesn’t fully believe you, you suppose he decides to drop it. With a shrug and a smile, he places his hand on the top of your head for a moment before following George towards their seats in the back.

Once his hand has removed itself, your head feels oddly cold and you don’t like it. You resist the temptation to turn around and look at him, see what his face looks like - or perhaps what he looks like from behind, you think with a blush - but you refuse to give in, instead opening your textbook to this week's chapter about human to object transfiguration and trying to ignore what just went down.

About halfway through class, you managed to focus entirely on the lesson and not the two redheads behind you. This concentration is once more broken, however, because of course the twins would never allow you a moment of peace. There’s a tap on your shoulder from behind, and once you’re sure McGonagall isn’t looking you turn around to see Katie Bell holding out a folded piece of parchment to you.

You’re familiar with Katie Bell; she sits behind you and the twins are friends with her, so you’ve spoken to her a few times. You sincerely doubt your relationship entails passing notes to one another during class, though, and so you give her a confused look. 

As answer, she juts her thumb over her shoulder, and it all becomes clear. About two more rows behind her sit two overgrown children with waggling eyebrows and excited grins. You give Fred and George a death stare, taking a mental note to throttle them later, before giving an apologetic smile to Katie and taking the note from her.

You take another mental note to skip throttling and just throw them to the first dragon you find when you read the note. There in all it’s chicken-scratch glory, reads, Congratulations! You are formally invited to your very own birthday party at the Burrow, December 25th, in honor of everyone’s favourite badger! P.s., make sure your attire is fittingly provocative, if you decide to wear any ;)

You crumple the piece of parchment in your fist as you close your eyes and take a deep breath. Oh, how tempting it is to turn around and smack them both upside the head right then and there. But no, with McGonagall here then you’d surely receive a punishment and the twins aren’t worth any more trouble than they already get you in.

Instead, you glance over your shoulder one more time to give them a fierce look - one that hardly disturbs their looks of pure amusement and glee - before turning back to the front of the room and trying to catch up on notes. 

And yet, despite your frustration and their annoying plans to actually celebrate your birthday, you can’t help but let the corners of your mouth lift. After all, if any one word can be associated with the Weasley twins, it’s fun. And perhaps you can look forward to winter break with them. Maybe you’ll enjoy it. Maybe it’ll even be worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> Again, this will be finished in the next part of the series! Sorry for the cliffhanger luvs <3


End file.
